Carranza,Venustiano b. December 29, 1859; Cuatro Cienegas, Coahuila d. May 20, 1920; San Antonio, Tlaxcalantongo
President of Mexico during the last years of World War I who found himself courted by Germany, which was seeking an ally geographically close to the United States.
Venustiano Carranza held various political positions in Porfirio Diaz’s Mexico, but in 1909 he joined forces with Francisco Madero to overthrow the long-standing dictator.
Carranza remained loyal to Madero when the latter assumed the presidency. After Madero’s death in 1913, Vic- toriano Huerta, a general under Madero, assumed power. Carranza did not agree with Huerta’s dictatorial methods and led one of the many rebellions against the new regime. Woodrow Wilson, who became president of the United States in 1913, adamantly opposed Huerta and refused to recognize his adminsitration’s legitimacy. With increased pressure from opposition, including the United States, Huerta fled Mexico. The power vacuum created by Huerta’s flight left Carranza and Pancho Villa as the most likely successors. Washington chose to support Carranza, and Wilson sent General John J. Pershing into Mexico to capture Villa. Although the punitive expedition failed, Villa’s powers slowly diminished, allowing Carranza to establish supremacy.After six years of fighting, the revolutionary leadership concluded that it was time to legitimize their cause. A congress met at Queretaro in November 1916 and eventually drafted the Constitution of 1917. Special elections were held in March 1917, in which Carranza won the presidency easily. Carranza’s appointment did little to ease tensions between the United States and Mexico. As World War I raged in Europe, it became increasingly likely that the United States would enter the fray against Germany. Most Latin American nations prepared to ally with the United States, but Carranza believed the best course for Mexico was to remain neutral. Germany, much like the United States, wanted Mexico on its side and decided to pursue an alliance.
Venustiano Carranza (left), president of Mexico, 1917—1920, shown with with G.F. Weeks. (Library of Congress)
One of the pivotal events of Carranza’s presidency occurred when the British intercepted a telegram from the German foreign secretary, Arthur Zimmermann, intended for the Mexican government. The “Zimmermann telegram” set forth a scenario for Germany and Mexico to forge a formal alliance. Germany asked that Mexico attack the United States, should it attack Germany. In return, Germany, after winning the war, would make sure that Mexico received back lands that the United States had taken in the nineteenth century. Carranza turned down the German offer, as he continued to prefer a path of neutrality, especially given the fragile nature of the Mexican state. When word got out in the
United States, after newspapers published the telegram, citizens were outraged. This event, coupled with Germany’s resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare, led the United States to declare war on Germany on April 6, 1917.
Melvin Duane Davis
See also Mexico; World War I
References and Further Reading
Hart, John Mason. Revolutionary Mexico. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987.
Knight, Alan. The Mexican Revolution. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1986.
Richmond, Douglas. Venustiano Carranzas Nationalist Struggle. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983.